An Edinburgh mum has spoken of how she feels as though her son has been ostracised from his peers and his future placed in jeopardy due to failures of the capital’s education system.
Hailey Paolozzi, 29, from Broomhouse, says that her son, who she wishes to remain anonymous, was diagnosed with autism at the age of four after being placed on a pathway since the age of two. His needs are extremely complex and his mother argues that a mainstream school setting is not the right place for her son.
Hailey says that she has requested for her son to be transferred to a specialist school where there are trained members of staff that can ensure her son’s potential is fully reached. But her plea with Edinburgh City Council officials was declined in a move that has flattened her family.
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Both mum and dad have argued that their son cannot function in a traditional mainstream school setting, and although they praise the six-year-old’s current primary school, they feel as though his needs are not being met. At the present moment their son is “ostracised” from his peers and is forced to live out his school days in isolation alongside two Pupil Support Assistants (PSA’s).
Hailey says that the PSA’s are fantastic and often stretched but that her son must be transferred to a specialist school so he can blossom.
On her experience and battle for her son’s future, she said: “My son was diagnosed autistic at the age of four after being on the pathway since the age of two. When he was in nursery the difficulties were clear.
“The staffing ratio in nurseries generally is much higher than in primary, so multi intervention enabled him to manage at this stage. Although we would have liked him to do nursery for another year this was not an option due to his birthday, so it was recommended he start mainstream school with a PSA.
“When he started school I asked the head teacher what hours he had with a PSA and she said he didn’t have allocated hours, what I didn’t know at this stage is the PSA’s are allocated as and where they are needed throughout the school. They are funded through the school budget that is set out by the council.
“We were on a see how it goes basis as primary one is seen as an assessment year. This means a registered disabled child having to prove for a year that mainstream school isn’t the right fit for them.
“Considering how high his needs are at home, I knew it wouldn’t be long until further support was needed. Two to three weeks in it was all hands on deck, dedicated PSA, a workstation in the class, movement breaks, intervention from other professionals and staggered start as well as finish times.
“It became clear how difficult my son found the classroom setting and sensory overload for him comes in forms of impulse erratic behaviour, not your A-typical meltdown. I discussed with the school about supporting us in our application for an enhanced support base.
“In the application there was involvement from a variety of professionals who observed and knew my son, the application was strong and evidenced my son presenting in some aspects as a 18-24 month old when his chronological age at the time was five.
“This application is assessed and decided by a panel of professionals in the council that are called the Education Placement Group. The application went in after the Easter break and we received our decline letter on June 9.”
The reasons for the EPG declining the request were that Hailey’s son “should remain in a mainstream school modelling his peers.” They stated that placing her son in an enhanced support base could “overfill” the base.
But Hailey was puzzled by the decision and said that her son had little understanding of the world around him. When the family moved home, they had to safety-proof their entire house.
She says that in his current setting he is not modelling his peers and would be unable to due to the resources on offer and his condition within his primary school.
On the decision, she said: “I was absolutely heartbroken for him, thinking about his future in the environment he was in was frightening. I appealed the decision and it went to mediation in August - this was before he moved to another mainstream school.
“In the mediation I challenged each excuse that the EPG came up with. I also provided supporting evidence, as I knew the council would have a duty to look into evidence that came to light during their decision making.
“I have yet to hear back from this, but have had intervention from my MSP and was advised my son was discussed recently when the EPG met again. But the minutes have not been shared. We are awaiting a date with Govan law to look to head towards a tribunal.
“During this time my son’s schooling has deteriorated to the point where he is no longer in his class, with his teacher or classmates. He is in a room up the stairs on his own with two members of staff. One PSA, or sometimes two, and a member of staff from additional support for learning.
“There is no teacher currently with my son. He spends his lunch with a PSA and has little time in the playground. Essentially my son is being babysat by PSA’s, who truly are the ones who are making his schooling as positive as they can, and do an amazing job.
“They do not get the recognition, pay or treatment they deserve. There is no teacher involvement, he’s not following a curriculum and the GIRFEC standard is non-existent.
“I can’t fathom how forcing my son to remain in an environment he can’t cope with is going to give him any chance of an education, he is riddled with anxiety, fear and everyday it is getting worse.
“There are so many children and parents like ourselves who are being failed by the council and I feel he is being seen as just a number. The EPG are a group of people who couldn’t pick my son out of a line up of five kids and they have the power to make a decision about his education and future.
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“He needs to be in an environment that will nurture and enrich his beautiful brain, not one that is detrimental to his mental health. Everyday I feel anxious sending him into school to his lone class up the stairs. If I refuse to send him in then I’m breaking the law and the council will use this against me at tribunal.”
Hailey says that the Scottish Government and the council must recognise that they are failing disabled children and have to take action to correct this. She says the decision to decline her request is “nothing less than disgraceful” and that resources should be made available to support children with disabilities.
She adds that neurodiverse children should not be forced to remain in mainstream settings when they do not meet their needs. The concerned mum says that it opens her son up for bullying and that it sets him up for failure.
She continued: “The issue is funding and placements. Pitiful excuses are being offered considering there are children's futures at stake. Tax money is being pumped into trams that no one wants and turning the city into a tourist attraction.
“Society's needs aren’t being met and yet we are the ones funding these ridiculous projects through our hard earned tax. I advise any parent going through what we are just now to keep fighting for your children, every step of the way.
“My son will get what he needs at some point in the future, but as and when, who knows. For the meantime, he is in a room up the stairs away from the other children - my child is being ostracised and forced to remain in an environment he can’t cope with.”
The council argues that there is teacher involvement in designing activities for the PSA’s to lead with Hailey’s son. But Hailey says that the activities are not appropriate for the level that her son is at.
The EPG was unable to provide a response on why the appeal is taking so long, why there is no environment that allows the pupil to mirror his peers in his current setting, or a response to the lack of teaching hours.
A council spokesperson said: “Supporting and providing the resources for children with additional support needs in all our schools is a priority for the Council. The Education Placement Group considers all the evidence put before them before deciding on placing requests for special provision.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “All children and young people should receive the support they need to reach their full potential. Local authorities are responsible for identifying and meeting the additional support needs of their pupils.”
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